More irregularities found at Chau Binh ruby-sapphire mine: Mining results contradict exploration reports!
At the same ruby-sapphire mine in Chau Binh, in early 2025, Hanoi Gemstone and Gold Joint Stock Company reported a production of 0 kg; meanwhile, in an exploration report also submitted by the same company to the authorities, dozens of gemstone samples were collected. Why is there such a contradictory discrepancy?
What does the survey report say?
Following the article published on December 4, 2025 by Baonghean.vn,Abnormal signs at the Chau Binh ruby and sapphire mine."We were granted permission by the authorities to access the exploration report of the ruby-sapphire mine at Ty Hill - Khe Met, Quy Chau, Nghe An province, conducted by Hanoi Gemstone and Gold Joint Stock Company."
This document outlines the history of the Chau Binh ruby-sapphire mining area: From the 1980s to the 1990s, discoveries were made and promising ruby-sapphire areas such as Trieu Beach, Met Stream, and Ty Hill were identified. During the 1990-1991 period, local people and those from other areas flocked to the area to dig and exploit the resources indiscriminately, sometimes involving tens of thousands of people, causing significant losses of precious stones.
The document also states that, starting in 1991, several gemstone mining units were established in the Chau Binh ruby-sapphire mining area and operated within their licensed areas. However, due to the failure to identify promising areas for exploration and exploitation, they suffered losses and had to suspend operations or be dissolved.
Specifically, the Nghe An Gemstone Enterprise (the predecessor of the Nghe An Gemstone and Mineral Enterprise under Hanoi Gemstone and Gold Joint Stock Company), from 1992 to 1995, organized mining operations at the Ho Ty - Mo Coi mine, yielding 75 kg of ruby with a total value of 3 million USD.
From May 1995, the Nghe An Gemstone Enterprise temporarily suspended mining to conduct exploration of the deeper parts of the Ho Ty and Mo Coi mineral bodies. By the end of 2000, the Nghe An Gemstone and Gold Company resumed production, extracting rubies from the head of mineral body I. The results of three months of mining yielded approximately 9 kg of rubies, with an estimated value of around 600,000 USD.
From September 2003 to December 2006, the Nghe An Gemstone and Mineral Enterprise conducted exploration under mineral exploration permits No. 992/GP - DCKS dated April 22, 2002, issued by the Ministry of Industry; and No. 37/GP-BTNMT dated January 12, 2006, issued by the former Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Through these explorations, three mineral bodies were identified, with specific results regarding the quality, content, and reserves of gemstones.
Specifically, mineral body I is located north of Ty Hill, extending in a northwest-southeast direction. Exploration results determined the gemstone content to be between 0.21 and 10.10 g/m³.3The ore's mineral composition mainly consists of gemstones, with ruby accounting for 37.99%, sapphire 33.98%, and corundum 28.03%.
In mineral body II, located on the southwestern slope of Mo Coi Hill, the gemstone content ranges from 3.80 to 7.25 g/m³.3 The ore's mineral composition mainly consists of gemstones, with ruby accounting for 40.17%, sapphire 33.31%, and corundum 26.52%.
Mineral body III is located on the southwestern slope of Mo Coi Hill, parallel to and above mineral body II. The gemstone content is 3.58g/m³.3up to 7.20g/m3Of that, ruby accounts for 40.13%, sapphire for 36.16%, and corundum for 23.71%.
Sampling and selection work in the projects yielded 54 samples. All 54 gemstone samples were classified and graded by the Gemstone and Gold Research and Testing Center ( thuộc Hanoi Gemstone and Gold Joint Stock Company), revealing common characteristics: rubies were deep red, red, pink, and bright pink; sapphires were light red, purplish red, slightly orange-red, and light to dark bright red; and corundum was brown and slightly dull brown.
From this, Hanoi Gemstone and Gold Joint Stock Company concluded that it had identified three promising gemstone mineral deposits, determining reserves of 122 and resources of 333 totaling 429.75 kg. Of this, reserves of 122 amounted to 241.08 kg; and resources of 333 amounted to 188.67 kg. The company also reported that this mine could be exploited using open-pit mining methods…
Are mining reports reliable?
Based on the aforementioned exploration report, the former Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment issued License No. 167/GP-BTNMT in September 2020 to Hanoi Gemstone and Gold Joint Stock Company to mine ruby and sapphire gemstones at the Ty Hill - Khe Met mine area, Chau Binh commune.
The license stated: Mining area of 4.7 hectares; permitted gemstone reserves of over 229 kg; designed capacity of 50 kg/year; mining period of 5 years and 7 months. Based on these figures, calculations showed that after mining, the gemstone mine should generate a certain output and contribute to the state budget. However, the reality was completely different.
In its periodic report on mineral mining operations submitted to the State management agency in January 2025, Hanoi Gemstone and Gold Joint Stock Company reported that the actual mining output up to December 31, 2024, was 0 kg of gemstones. Related indicators such as the volume of raw minerals, processed minerals, recovered by-products, and even resource taxes and export taxes were all zero.
The fact that a gemstone mine, estimated to have reserves of hundreds of kilograms and licensed for extraction at a capacity of 50 kg/year, has yet to record any production output after many years raises questions about the consistency between exploration reports and actual mining results. These concerns stem not only from public opinion but are also noted by state management agencies during on-site inspections.
According to the inspection results of the inter-agency task force under Decision No. 133/QD-SNNMT dated April 17, 2025, of the Nghe An Department of Agriculture and Environment, the enterprise has organized mining at mining site No. I in the southern part of the mine, applying the open-pit mining method in layers, mining from top to bottom, with an estimated volume of overburden removed of approximately 9,000 m³.
Based on the approved mineral exploration records, authorities determined that mining operations had entered mineral body I – an area assessed to contain gemstone reserves. However, the company reported that no gemstones were extracted.
Due to discrepancies between exploration records and mining reports, the Nghe An Department of Agriculture and Environment has requested the Vietnam Geological Survey and Mineral Resources Department to lead a coordinated inspection to clarify the situation at the Chau Binh ruby-sapphire mine.
December 11, 2025,Vietnam Geological and Mineral Resources DepartmentThe Department of Agriculture and Environment of Nghe An Province issued Document No. 3558/DCKS-PCKS regarding the exploitation of ruby-sapphire mines at Ty-Khe Met hill, requesting the Department of Agriculture and Environment to conduct a field inspection to determine the volume of excavated soil and rock; and to consider maintaining the current state of areas showing signs of geological discrepancies for comparison purposes.
The document indicates that central-level authorities also raised the issue of whether or not there were gemstones within the mined mineral body; and whether or not there was fraudulent activity in declaring the mineral extraction output.
Previously, Nghe An Newspaper and Radio and Television had published the article."Unusual signs at the Chau Binh ruby-sapphire mine"An article on Baonghean.vn on December 4, 2025, reflects a very sad reality: Gemstone mines granted mining licenses by the Ministry are not creating value and pose a risk of resource depletion.
The fact that the Vietnam Department of Geology and Minerals has officially stated the above opinion shows that the "irregularities" at the ruby-sapphire gemstone mine at Ty Hill - Khe Met have gone beyond the scope of ordinary suspicion and need to be examined objectively and comprehensively.
To answer the question: Why did a gemstone mine assessed to have significant reserves fail to produce any output during extraction? And, was there or was there not fraud in the declaration of production output at the Chau Binh ruby-sapphire mine?
